Latest / Scripture Central / 3 Nephi 27–4 Nephi | Scripture Study Insights with Tyler Griffin | A Come Follow Me Resource

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3 Nephi 27–4 Nephi | Scripture Study Insights with Tyler Griffin | A Come Follow Me Resource · Scripture Central

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Hello there, My name is Tyler Griffin and this is Scripture
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Study Insights by Scripture Central Today, Third Nephi,
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Chapters 27 through 4th Nephi. So this section of scripture is
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going to conclude the Savior's personal ministry among the
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Nephites and Lamanites in the new world in chapter 27 and 28.
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And then there will be a couple of chapters to finish off.
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And then we get the incredible force Nephi, which covers an
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incredibly long period of time where they are living in a Zion
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society, a perfect society. But since the book was written
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for our day and not for the millennial day, as we get it
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here, you only get 1 chapter of that perfect society.
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And only half of that chapter is when they're perfect.
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And the other half is is a decay of that chapter leading into the
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smaller Book of Mormon that comes right after 4th Nephi.
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So the lifelong learning overlay that I wanted to use on these
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particular chapters was a deep dive look at what are the
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definitions of the church, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the
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doctrine of Christ. How do they all fit together?
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How do they work together? How are they the same?
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How are they maybe filling different roles, different
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functions. So in chapter 27 the the
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apostles are gathered around the Savior has left his ministry
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they thought was finished and they have a question.
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It says that when when Jesus came down and showed himself
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unto them in verse 2, they were praying and the thing that they
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were praying for, it says in verse 3, Lord, we will that thou
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wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church.
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For there are disputations among the people concerning this
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matter. There were disagreements that
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ended in disputations and remember back in Chapter 11 when
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Jesus Christ introduced the ordinance of baptism, he told
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them that contention is of the devil.
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Don't contend one with another over points of my doctrine.
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And here they're they're disputing about what to call his
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church. What name should we give it?
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And so he clarifies verse 4, The Lord said unto them, verily,
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verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur
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and dispute because of this thing?
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And now he's going to give them the answer.
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Have they not read the Scriptures which say, you must,
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you must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name.
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For by this name shall ye be called at the last day.
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That's interesting because you have individuals and then you
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have the collective organization and most would think that taking
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upon you the name of Christ only applies to individuals.
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They're asking about the name of his church, and he talks about
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our need to take upon us the name of Christ.
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But he's answering their question about the church, which
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is this collective group that the group altogether needs to be
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willing to take upon them the name of Christ, as well as each
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individual within that covenant community of belonging needs to
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also take upon them the name of Jesus Christ.
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So that's requirement #1 you have to be able to take His name
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in order to be His Church, He says.
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And then he goes on to say, Whoso taketh upon him my name,
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and endures to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.
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And he clarifies, Therefore whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall
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do it in my name. Now he's giving us clarification
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of perhaps what it means to take upon us His name, so that it's
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not just a theoretical concept. Taking upon us the name of
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Christ. You do all things in my name.
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Therefore you shall call the church in my name.
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You shall call upon the Father in my name, that he will bless
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the church for my sake. So there's a lot involved with
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taking upon you the name of Christ.
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You become a family member of the household of Christ, and
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that family has a name, the name of Christ.
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Just like when I was born, I became a Griffin.
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I took upon me the name of my, my household, name of my
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parents, Griffin. When I enter into a covenant
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community of the Savior, I take upon me the name of that family
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of that covenant community, Christ.
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And I do all things in that name.
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I can't come in and out of that family membership.
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I can't, I can't remove the Griffin label whenever I want.
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Everywhere I go, everything I say and do carries with it that
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family name, that label. Same thing with this covenant
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community. You you can feel this the power
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of the name of Jesus Christ and what's more, when apostles are
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called, they aren't called just to go and teach the gospel in
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all the world. They're called President Delaney
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chokes wrote an incredible book on this entire subject.
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They are called to be witnesses of the name of Jesus Christ.
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They they are spreading more than just the name Christ or
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Christian. It's this whole covenantal
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community concept that is the invitation for all to come into
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his family and take upon them his name, become a part of of
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his family. And he goes on to say verse 8.
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And how be it my church, save it shall be called in my name.
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If a church be called in Moses's name, then it be Moses's church.
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Or if it be called in the name of a man, then it be the Church
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of a man. But if it be called in my name,
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then it is my church. If it so be that they are built
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upon my gospel. So it's not enough just to call
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yourself in the name of Christ. You have to be rooted in Christ.
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You have to be built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ, which
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he's going to describe and define and clarify in a few, in
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a few verses from here. But first, let's look very
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carefully at the name of the church today, in the latter
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days, because for many people the name is quite long and for
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some it might feel a little cumbersome, but there is
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incredible significance to the full name.
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So we're going to go through this word by word, keeping in
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mind that when Joseph Smith established the church on April
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6th, 1830, there were 6 charter members who signed by, by the
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state of New York law, they had to have six signatures and it
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was the Church of Christ. Pretty simple.
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Four years later, it was kind of changed to the Church of the
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Latter Day Saints. And then something beautiful
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happened when the church turned 8 years old, just shortly after
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the 8th birthday of the church. Think about the significance of
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the timing there. It might be chance, but I don't
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think so. The date was April 26th, 1838.
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So. So the church is now 8 years old
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plus six days. So it's just shortly after its
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8th birthday. We're in far West Missouri when
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Joseph Smith receives this revelation, officially naming
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the church again. Because remember, it was already
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named in 1830 and again in 1834, but here it changes.
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And listen to the wording. For thus shall my church be
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called in the last days, even the Church of Jesus Christ of
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Latter Day Saints. And then verse 5 verily I say
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unto you, all, arise and shine forth, that my light may be a
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standard for the nations. So he sets up his church, and
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after eight years of growth and development and progression and
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struggles, then he puts his name officially on the church, and he
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says, thus shall my church be called.
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President Nelson has made it beautifully clear the importance
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of reinstituting the name of the church.
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We are not the Mormon church. We are not the LDS Church or the
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Latter Day Saints church. We are the Church of Jesus
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Christ of Latter Day Saints because of the Savior himself
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told us. Thus shall my church be called
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in these last days. So we're following the Savior,
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not just President Nelson. When we make efforts to use the
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full name of the church. So it is the Church of our
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central feature, Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
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That is the name given by him. Now the obvious question to ask
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here is whose church is it? And the obvious answer to
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respond is will. It's Jesus Christ's church.
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And that's that's wonderful because the word of denotes
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ownership. It is the Church of Jesus
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Christ. But if you look closely at the
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full name of the church, you will notice that there is more
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than one of there's also an of down here.
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Now, granted, in English, the word of doesn't just mean
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possession or ownership like we would assume here.
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The Church of Jesus Christ, he owns it.
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He stands at the head. It's his.
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The word of can also mean other things.
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For instance, I have a book of words.
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It doesn't mean that the words own the book, It just means the
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book is filled with words. So it's a book of words.
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So you could also use the word of in the context of being
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filled with something or containing something.
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So now let's look at this second of in the name of the church.
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It's very significant. It could mean possession,
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ownership, just like this first one did.
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is powerful
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because what it does is it brings joint ownership together
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into one. I love this definition because
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we combine Christ's perfected attributes, his perfect
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leadership with our imperfections, and we come into
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one hole together called the Church, and we combine our
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resources with His. I like that because now it's
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joint ownership. I don't go to the church as if
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it's something apart or separate from me.
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I go to the church as a part owner.
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Everything in the church, everything that happens,
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everything that we own, all the buildings, all the temples, all
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the the efforts that we make, we have part ownership when we come
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into that family. That's there's a lot to like
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about that definition. The second way that you could
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look at it is the this other definition, like a book of words
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or a Church of Latter Day Saints, that it's a church
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filled with Latter Day Saints and we become a part of it.
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That's a powerful definition as well for a different set of
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reasons that we are taken care of.
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We go there to be nurtured, to be bound up when we're wounded,
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when we're lost, when we're hurt, when we need to be guided
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through some some serious repentance processes and and
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other aspects of what it means to be in this organization and
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be a part of it so that it can bless us and help us.
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That's true. So in the one it's the church
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helping us. In the other, it's us being a
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part owner and being responsible, using agency to
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build it up, to spread it, to encourage people on both sides
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of the veil to take any step forward on the covenant path so
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that we can be gathering Israel. As President Nelson has reminded
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us multiple times, either way you look at it, brothers and
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sisters, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
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provides a place, a meaningful place for you and for me.
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We're not passive observers were not objects waiting to be acted
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upon as Elder Bednar would say, we're agents.
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We are a part of this church, which in other contexts is the
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Kingdom of God on the earth that is tasked with this job of
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gathering Israel in these the latter days.
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And instead of going to church and seeing what's wrong with
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other people or how certain leaders might be governing
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differently than we would or making decisions differently
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than we would. What a powerful reminder that
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we're all in this together, just like a family.
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And there's some dynamics and sometimes it's, it's not
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perfect. Sometimes it things don't work
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out the way we would have preferred, but we don't base our
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testimony on other people. The rock that we build upon is
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the rock of our Redeemer, the cornerstone of his church, the
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cornerstone of the gospel. It's him.
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He's the one who is guiding all of this, and he's patient with
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me individually, just like he's patient with all of us
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collectively. Instead of choosing to be
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offended, we should choose to be part of a solution.
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Anyone can notice problems and anyone can start saying things
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and and having conversations. People to to point out what's
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wrong and to make the situation worse.
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The Saints of God who recognize a degree of joint ownership,
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that the church isn't this separate entity over there, and
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it offended me, but recognizes that the church is us.
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We are the church. It's not the buildings.
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They're just buildings where the church goes to meet, but they're
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not the church. That's us.
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Then Saints can start working together, just like family
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members can start working together to figure out how to
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become one, how to become truly Zion.
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Because if we're not one, we're not his.
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If we're contending over doctrine, if we're fighting with
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each other over pick your topic in the gospel or politics or
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society or any aspect of life, then we're not striving to
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become one. It doesn't mean we need to
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totally agree with everything everybody says, but we need to
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become unified on especially the most important things.
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And those would be rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ that he's
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going to talk about next. So his his definition of the
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gospel begins in verse 13. Behold, I have given unto you my
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gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you.
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So in verse 13 you get the opening, this is the gospel.
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Then look down at verse 21. It says, verily I say and
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verily, verily I say unto you, this is my gospel.
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So this is an ancient literary technique called inclusio.
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It's these bookends for definitions, kind of a the the
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equivalent of an open quote, close quote.
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So you know, this is the definition when Jesus Christ
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himself says, let me give you the definition of the gospel.
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There's no need to to argue with anybody or contend over over
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what we think his gospel should be defined as because he gave us
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the definition himself. And this is powerful because it
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is so simple. If it's going to be His church,
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it needs to be called in His name and built upon His gospel.
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So what is the church supposed to teach?
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And by the way, it's not once again, just the church as if
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it's over there. It's us.
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What should be the focus of our lives?
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What should be the main core of what we're striving to do?
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Every time we give a talk, every time we give a lesson, every
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time we fulfill an aspect of a calling, we're not just going
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through the motions. We're not just running
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activities to fill time. We're trying to help people
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progress. Along the covenant path on both
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sides of the veil. So the very first element he
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mentions it is the core the the major principle of the gospel of
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Jesus Christ is he says I Speaking of the Savior came into
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the world to do the will of my father because my father sent
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me. This is really a critical points
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to pause and digest for a moment if we're really seeking to
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become more like Jesus, if we've been born again, spiritually
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reborn into his covenant family, taken upon us, his name entered
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his church, become a part of it, part ownership as well as being
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owned by the church that that ownership goes both ways with
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that word of so we're part of that.
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Then we want to grow up to become more like our the father
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of our spiritual rebirth, Jesus Christ.
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So as we read this definition, this isn't just about a
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description of Jesus Christ and what he's done.
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It becomes a description of our path of discipleship of what
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we're striving to become. We want to become more like him.
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So now if you can connect yourself with the Savior in
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this, in this verse, this context, it becomes a little
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more instructive for why I do the things I do when I go to
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church or when I serve in callings, or when I serve in my
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family, or when I try to love my fellow beings.
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I'm doing that because I'm striving to become like Jesus
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Christ. How?
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Because you came into the world hopefully to do the will of the
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Father. Because your Father sent you.
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We're following the path that Jesus Christ trod.
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He showed us the perfect way. In fact, He is the Way, the
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truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father,
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but by me is His phrase in John 14/6.
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So we're now following in that this is what you might call a a
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will alignment instead of a wheel alignment like you do in a
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car. This is a will alignment.
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I want my will to align with God's.
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I want to keep His commandments. I want to know what the Father
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wants me to do, because that's what Jesus Christ did, perfectly
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aligned. And why was He sent here?
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Verse 14 My Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the
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cross, and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I
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might draw all men unto me. That's 100% even.
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So should men be lifted up by the Father to stand before me,
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to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether
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they be evil? So just like we're following in
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the path of the Savior in a vicarious way, Jesus Christ
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walked your path and my path. He was found guilty and punished
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to the full extent of eternal law and worldly law.
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He was. He gave His life for us because
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He walked our path and was found guilty.
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Now the invitation is for us to walk His path so that someday we
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could be found not guilty by Him, the very being who paid the
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ultimate price for us. This, this aspect of the gospel
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is so deep. It is so profound.
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And if we spend more time pondering on God's goodness, on
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the grace of Jesus Christ on on his free will offering that he
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made for us, it will help put all the other aspects of our
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life into better alignment with God's will and a better focus
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with the focus on Jesus Christ and building that connection
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with him and striving to be more of what a an appropriate joint
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owner would be in in any organization.
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But in this context, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
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Day Saints, we become more fit for the Kingdom, more used.
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Would I be more blessed and holy, more Savior like thee?
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Now you come to verse 15. And for this cause have I been
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lifted up. Therefore, according to the
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power of the Father, I will draw all men unto me that they may be
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judged according to their works. So there's the second repeat of
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this judgment promises as a significant part of His
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definition of what the gospel is.
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Now you see that in verse 13 through 15.
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It's mostly about what Jesus Christ has done.
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You and I didn't help him with anything that he's listed so
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far. So far he did this all on his
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own with the help of the Father and fulfilled his role.
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But the beautiful part of the gospel of Jesus Christ as the
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foundation for the church to be built upon isn't just to focus
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on Christ's perfection. That is the core.
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That is the beginning point. That is the facilitator for
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everything else that's to follow, but what follows is what
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He now enables you and me to become through Him.
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So if you look at verse 16 through 21, you see more of our
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part, our roles in this gospel with the Savior's roles being
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firmly rooted in place. They're established from before
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the foundations of the world. It was put in place.
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That's why people like Adam and Enoch and Noah and all of the
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people in ancient times could still have faith in him and
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repent and be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy
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Ghost and endure to the end. Now here's our part.
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Now, before I even dive in to verse 16, I want to make it very
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clear that when I write our rules or our part being
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discussed, this isn't to imply that this is what I do
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independent of him. He did his part independent of
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me. But I can't do anything in my
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list independent of Christ. I can't take a single step
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forward. Some people get this idea that
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if I'll just be good enough, if I'll keep the commandments
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perfectly enough, then at the very end, Jesus Christ will save
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me by his grace. And the reality is, is I can't
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keep a single commandment without His grace, without His
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power enabling me towards righteousness, I can't progress.
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I will only digress. I will only get farther and
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farther away from Heavenly Father and His will.
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So keep in mind that the Savior is walking this path with us
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every single inch of the way, because He's already walked it
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for us all alone, so that you and I wouldn't have to walk it
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alone when it's our turn for mortality.
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Here we go, verse 16. And it shall come to pass that
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whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled.
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The implication here is filled with the Holy Ghost.
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And if he endureth to the end, behold Him will I hold guiltless
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before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the
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world. He gave such a simple formula,
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these first principles and ordinances of the gospel.
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You have to have faith in Jesus Christ to even repent you.
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You don't get the word faith in verse 16.
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You're going to get it a little later on in verse 19, but the
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implication is there that you repent, you're baptized in his
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name, and then you're filled with the Holy Ghost so that you
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can endure to the end. And his promise is very sure.
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He doesn't say that you have to have a certain number of
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cullings and you have to have logged a certain number of of
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hours serving in the temple or having served X number of
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missions as if you're creating this this set of merit badges in
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order to gain the the ultimate award of exaltation.
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He doesn't do that. He says those who are going to
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be saved are those who repent of their sins and get baptized.
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They come into a covenant connection and they receive the
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gift of the Holy Ghost, and then they endure to the end.
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They keep moving forward in the church and Kingdom of God.
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I love the fact that if you look carefully, if you look up the
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temple recommend questions, read through them, ponder them
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carefully, slowly think about what the Lord is is emphasizing
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and and the order of those questions.
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And by the way, notice how many times he uses the word strive.
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Do you strive? He's giving us a definition
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through his prophet, surgeon, revelators of what it looks like
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to endure to the end. Consequently, many can probably
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benefit from letting go of some of the spiritual anxieties that
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are so prevalent in our day and age.
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We can perhaps stop beating ourselves up quite so much
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because we're not absolutely perfect.
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But if we're living the gospel of Jesus Christ as he defined
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it, then we can stop worrying about having to save ourselves
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and we can focus more on this connection with Christ and rely
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more fully upon his merits and his mercy and his grace that he
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knows what we're going through and he will bless us.
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He will guide us as we turn to him.
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Verse 17, He that endureth not unto the end, the same as He
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that is also hewn down and cast into the fire from once.
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They can no more return because of the justice of the Father.
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So he's making it very clear that this isn't a journey that
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you just start. You don't check a box.
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OK, I got baptized, I came into the church, but I'm not going to
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endure to the end. I did the will of the Father in
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getting baptized, but I'm not going to do the will of the
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Father for the rest of my life. There's no way I can sustain
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that. That mindset is rooted in me, in
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the power of the flesh, not rooted in Christ and the power
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of His deliverance and the power of His redemption, the power of
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His infinite atonement. So there's, there's that warning
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of being hewn down and cast out. And he says, and this is the
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word which he hath given unto the children of men.
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And for this, 'cause he fulfilled the words which he
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hath given, and he lieth not, but fulfill with all his words.
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I love watching how Jesus Christ speaks of Heavenly Father, how
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he describes his attributes, his characteristics, his
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perfections, what kind of a being he is and how loyal Jesus
32:36
Christ is to Heavenly Father, how perfectly aligned he he is
32:40
the perfect example of will alignment with the Father.
32:46
So he's he's describing how God doesn't lie.
32:50
He fulfills all his words. He's a God of justice.
32:53
He has to be or he would cease to be God.
32:56
And then verse 19 says, and no unclean thing can enter into his
33:01
Kingdom. Therefore nothing entereth into
33:04
his rest, save it be those who have washed their garments in my
33:09
blood because of their faith and the repentance of all their sins
33:16
and their faithfulness unto the end.
33:18
So the Savior's repeating some of these concepts.
33:21
There's there's this powerful focus and then refocus on the
33:26
most core principles and ordinances of the gospel because
33:31
that's where the most powerful root level connections with the
33:36
Savior are formed and developed over time.
33:41
And then as part of the definition of the gospel, he
33:45
ends with verse 20. Now this is the commandment.
33:49
So it's not a suggestion. It's not just a side option for
33:54
those who might be interested in this part of the gospel buffet.
33:58
No, this is the commandment. Repent all the ends of the
34:03
earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that you
34:09
may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost,
34:12
that you may stand spotless before me at the last day.
34:16
That's the command within his gospel definition.
34:20
And he says, verse 21, Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is
34:23
my gospel, and you know the things that you must do in my
34:27
church for the works which you have seen me do, that shall ye
34:31
also do. For that which you have seen me
34:33
do, even that shall ye do. Did you catch how almost
34:37
everything in his gospel definition got repeated at least
34:40
twice? He's giving this emphasis and
34:44
then reemphasis on everything, including that last statement of
34:48
it's really simple. The gospel in its most
34:51
rudimentary form is learn of me and do the things which you have
34:56
seen me do. It's pretty hard to follow Jesus
35:00
Christ if we spend very little time thinking about him.
35:06
It's it's hard to follow somebody that you're not looking
35:10
at. It's hard to come to know
35:12
somebody that you're not thinking about and you don't
35:15
know very well. That's why I love the three
35:18
questions that King Benjamin asked after he finished his
35:22
speech to his people on the tower in Mosiah chapter 5, verse
35:27
13. Three questions in rapid
35:29
succession. How knoweth a man, the master
35:33
whom he has not served, who is a stranger unto him, and is far
35:38
from the thoughts and intents of his heart?
35:41
So for us to live the gospel of Jesus Christ implies that we
35:46
need to learn of Jesus Christ before we can keep his gospel
35:51
because the core of his gospel is he came into the world to do
35:55
the will of his Father. So we now come into the world
35:59
and it's hard to do the will of the Father if we don't know what
36:02
pattern we're following, if we just make it up ourselves as we
36:06
go or live our life according to the patterns established by the
36:11
world or by society around us. Turning the page over, it says,
36:15
Therefore, if you do these things, blessed are ye, for ye
36:18
shall be lifted up at the last day.
36:20
Again, another lifelong learning overlay is to notice in the
36:23
Scriptures, especially when Jesus Christ is teaching
36:26
personally and directly His own words, to notice how often He'll
36:32
give commands followed by promises.
36:37
Everything in the temple, everything in the church follows
36:40
His pattern. He gives you an invitation.
36:45
If you keep the invitation or keep the commandment that comes
36:49
in that form, then a promised blessing will follow.
36:54
And here the beautiful ultimate promises.
36:57
If you do these things, you will be lifted up at the last day by
37:02
Him, by the Father, and you will be found guiltless before His
37:07
judgement seat, unlike the way he was found guilty before the
37:13
earth's judgement seat. Now he he's giving these
37:19
directions. Keep in mind, this isn't to the
37:22
the whole church. This is to the 12 apostles.
37:26
He's having this conversation and he gives them the command to
37:29
write down the things that they're learning so that it can
37:34
become intergenerational faith, not just a one shot wonder of,
37:40
of faith and devotion for that group at that time in that
37:43
location. And we are now the beneficiaries
37:47
of that commandment given to those prophets and apostles in
37:52
the the Nephite Lamanite times that now benefit us today.
37:56
And then he finishes this verse. Verse 27 is powerful.
38:01
And know ye that ye shall be judges of this people according
38:05
to the judgement which I shall give unto you, which shall be
38:08
just. So these apostles are going to
38:11
be judges of all these people in all the world that that they
38:14
have access to according to the judgement which He will give
38:18
unto them, which will be just. The Savior is guiding them, just
38:23
like at our levels, the Savior is guiding us in our families
38:28
and in our colleagues and in other aspects of our life.
38:31
So the second-half of verse 27 goes on to say, what manner of
38:35
men ought you to be? Again, His focus is on who they
38:38
are, not just on what they do or what they say.
38:42
It's who they're becoming. What manner of men ought you to
38:45
be? Verily I say unto you, even as I
38:51
am, even as I am is the essence of this whole gospel of Jesus
39:00
Christ that He is the great I am and He's inviting us to become
39:07
like him even as he is. Which once again means I need to
39:13
learn of Christ. I need to feast upon the words
39:17
of Christ. I need to study his life.
39:19
I need to study his teachings. I need to spend time pondering
39:23
and connecting with heaven and meaningful and moving ways to
39:29
change my my desires, my focus of life so that I can spend my
39:36
time, my money, my energy, my efforts, my desires on things
39:41
that would help me move forward in this covenant connection with
39:46
Him on the path, not just building up the things of the
39:50
world, which He then mentions some of these concepts.
39:55
Look at verse 28 again. Verily I say unto you,
39:58
whatsoever thing you shall ask the Father in my name shall be
40:01
given unto you. So how much time do we spend in
40:03
our prayers going to the Father? Asking for gold and silver and
40:07
power and riches and honors of the world.
40:10
If that's the focus of our life, that's that's the direction
40:13
we're facing and the direction we're probably going to go.
40:16
But if we're focused on thinking celestial, if we're trying to
40:22
get our lives turned toward Christ and move forward, gaining
40:28
spiritual momentum as we go, then revelation is going to flow
40:35
not just for the church, but for our lives, both collectively and
40:40
individually. So you, you see this ask and you
40:44
receive knock, and it shall be opened.
40:46
For he that asketh receiveth, and unto him that knocketh it
40:48
shall be opened. And he talks about how his joy
40:52
is full, and then this caution. Look at verse 32.
40:56
But behold His sorrow with me because of the 4th generation
41:01
from this generation, For they are LED away captive by Him,
41:05
even as was the Son of perdition.
41:08
For they will sell me for silver and for gold, and for that which
41:13
moth doth corrupt, and which thieves can breakthrough and
41:16
steal. And in that day will I visit
41:18
them. Even in turning their works upon
41:20
their own heads, there will be natural consequences, eternal
41:24
spiritual consequences that will flow from those decisions.
41:28
And then the Savior finishes this by saying, when Jesus had
41:32
entered these sayings, he said unto his disciples, Enter ye in
41:36
at the straight gate, For straight is the gate and narrows
41:40
the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it.
41:44
He's not repeating a concept that he had shared back in his
41:48
sermon at the temple or the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7,
41:52
verse 13 or Matthew 3514. This concept that the gate is
42:01
defined by God and Jesus Christ is the gate we have to enter in
42:06
through Him. There's no other way nor means
42:09
or by mankind can enter into the Kingdom of God with this
42:12
foundation of His church, His gospel, and these definitions.
42:20
Some of the other places you can look in the scriptures for
42:25
verification and cross validation of these these
42:29
definitions. Third Nephi Chapter 11 verse 32
42:36
through 39. Jesus Christ once again used
42:40
that bookend or inclusio technique to define his
42:46
doctrine. In that case.
42:48
Here we got his gospel defined in chapter 27 of Third Nephi and
42:53
he defines his doctrine in verse 32 through 39.
42:58
Second Nephi 31 is a beautiful description.
43:04
Also a chapters long description of his doctrine that extends a
43:09
little bit into chapter 32 of Second Nephi.
43:13
You can add some more study there to to better ponder what
43:21
his gospel and what his doctrine is.
43:25
And section 76, verse 40 through 42 is where the Lord in that
43:32
incredible vision of the the three degrees of glory, the
43:37
vision of the Father, the Son and the devil and outer
43:41
darkness, that those six amazing visions in section 76, right in
43:46
the middle there in verse 4041 and 42, he gives another nod to
43:54
the definition of his gospel. So those are some of the places
43:57
you can look to to better understand these concepts.
44:03
Which now brings us to chapter 28.
44:05
He's answered the question they had, and He answered questions
44:09
they didn't have. The question they had was, what
44:12
do we name the church? So He took care of that at the
44:14
beginning. Then He's added upon that
44:19
request, and now in chapter 28 it says it came to pass it.
44:24
When Jesus had said these words, He speak unto his disciples 1 by
44:27
1, saying unto them, What is it that you desire of me?
44:32
After that I'm gone to the Father.
44:34
That's a question worth pondering.
44:37
What is it that you most deeply desire?
44:41
If you could really have one thing, anything you want from
44:46
the Lord, what would it be? Again, this is an opportunity
44:50
for us to perhaps take our soul in for some maintenance and have
44:58
a will alignment with the help of the Lord to to re evaluate
45:03
what what am I spending most of my time and energy on when I
45:08
pull out my phone? What do I, what do I gravitate
45:12
to? When I when I read or watch
45:15
movies or listen to books or or seek entertainment, what is that
45:20
leading me towards? Who am I becoming?
45:23
What are my desires? What are my, What are the focal
45:27
points of my life? So here he's asking each one of
45:31
them, What do you desire of me? And many of them said, nine of
45:35
the 12 said, We desire that after we have lived under the
45:38
age of man, that our ministry wherein thou has called us may
45:41
have an end, that we may speedily come unto thee in thy
45:46
Kingdom. So his response is, and he said
45:48
unto them, Blessed are you because you desire to sing of
45:50
me. Therefore, after that ye are 70
45:53
and two years old age of a man, for them ye shall come unto me
45:57
in my Kingdom, and with me you shall find rest.
46:00
It's beautiful. They asked to come unto Jesus
46:03
Christ in his Kingdom, and he promised you'll come unto my
46:07
Kingdom. But then there are three who
46:12
don't want to quit the work. They want to keep going
46:16
indefinitely, and they don't dare ask it.
46:20
And so finally he tells them that he knew what they were they
46:25
were thinking. Verse six He says, Behold, I
46:27
know your thoughts, and you've desired the thing which John my
46:31
beloved, who was with me in my ministry before that I was
46:33
lifted up by the Jews, desired of me.
46:36
And he promises them that they will have that.
46:38
Now notice the difference. Ye shall never endure the pains
46:42
of death, but when I shall come in my glory, you shall be
46:45
changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to
46:49
immortality. And then shall ye be blessed in
46:52
the Kingdom of my Father. Back in verse two and three,
46:55
it's all about your Kingdom in thy Kingdom, and Jesus saying in
47:00
my Kingdom to the 9. And the three are promised that
47:03
they're going to live to the very end until they are blessed
47:09
in the Kingdom of my Father. So there's this subtle
47:13
difference you also see in verse 10.
47:17
And for this, 'cause you shall have fullness of joy, and you
47:20
shall sit down in the Kingdom of my Father.
47:25
It's almost as if there is a powerful distinction.
47:29
Everything that the Father had was given into the hands of
47:33
Jesus Christ. It's his Kingdom.
47:36
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the Kingdom
47:40
of God on the earth. And there's an incredible work
47:43
going on in the spirit world, this extension of the Kingdom of
47:47
Jesus Christ on the other side of the veil.
47:50
And these nine seem to be focused on, we want to come to
47:54
thee in thy Kingdom. And he promises that.
47:58
But the three Nephite apostles are promised that they will come
48:02
forth at the very end into the Kingdom of the Father.
48:05
Well, we know from section 76 verse 107 that the Savior says
48:15
when he Speaking of Jesus shall deliver up the Kingdom and
48:20
present it unto the Father, spotless saying I have overcome
48:26
and have trodden the winepress alone, even the winepress of the
48:29
fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God.
48:32
Jesus Christ is building his Kingdom, his church.
48:35
We're part of it. We're we're that symbolic bride
48:39
who is making herself ready for the coming of the bridegroom,
48:42
that second coming and the feast, the marriage that that
48:46
wedding joint ceremony, so that the day comes when the sun has
48:53
completed all of his work, made the Kingdom as spotless as he
48:58
can, as it can be. And then he presents his Kingdom
49:04
spotless to the Father. Now it becomes the Kingdom of
49:08
our God, God the Father. I want my whole life to be
49:18
filled with these efforts to build up the Kingdom of the Lord
49:24
Jesus Christ, this this church and Kingdom, so that when that
49:29
day comes, when He does present it spotless, that everything
49:35
I've had a possible influence on is a little brighter, a little
49:42
shinier, a little more purified, a little more spotless through
49:47
the blood of the Lamb that was manifest through any effort that
49:52
I might have put into this, this church and Kingdom, into my
49:56
discipleship. It's all fueled by Him and His
49:59
grace. But I don't want to be a passive
50:03
observer in the Kingdom of God. I want to be an active laborer
50:08
in the vineyard, working side by side with the Saviour, doing as
50:12
much as I possibly can to help build up his Kingdom for the day
50:18
when it will become the Kingdom of his Father and our Father his
50:24
God and our God. And he goes on to say verse in
50:28
the second-half of verse 10, after saying, you shall sit down
50:31
in the Kingdom of my Father, which will happen at the end of
50:35
the Millennium when all of the work of the Savior is complete.
50:38
Yeah, your joy shall be full even as the Father hath given me
50:44
fullness of joy. And ye shall be even as I am.
50:50
Notice back in chapter 27 verse 27 the command to the 12 was
50:56
verily I sent you be even as I am now the promises you will be
51:02
even as I am and I am even as the Father and the Father and I
51:08
are one and the implication is you and I now can become one
51:14
with them. We can become joint heirs with
51:17
Christ as part of his family. And it came to pass it when
51:21
Jesus had spoken these words, he touched every one of them with
51:24
his fingers save it were the three who were to tarry and then
51:27
he departed. So there's this profound
51:32
influence that has been put in place among those Nephites by
51:35
these 12. They have a vision, they have a
51:38
mandate. They they they have a
51:40
Commission. And now they go forward, which
51:44
sets the stage for all of these incredible experiences for the
51:51
people for the next 200 years. So in chapter 29, there's a
51:57
little pause in the in the narrative flow where we get this
52:01
repeat concept where Mormon repeats what Jesus Christ has
52:07
taught the people back in 3rd Nephi chapter 20 and 21.
52:12
Specifically, chapter 21, verse one through 7, where you get the
52:16
coming forth of the Book of Mormon as a sign that God is
52:21
beginning to do his great gathering work in the latter
52:25
days. Just like he has done it for
52:28
these people back then, gathering them into the safety
52:30
of the fold so powerfully that it lasted 2, lasted 200 years.
52:36
So chapter 29 is filled with all of these promises as well as
52:40
warnings and woes for the latter days.
52:44
And then he finishes in chapter 30 with his with with Mormon's
52:48
invitation under the direction of inspiration from the Lord for
52:53
Gentiles of the latter days, Hearken, O ye Gentiles, and hear
52:57
the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.
53:01
Here's Mormon who has been called to be a special witness
53:05
of Jesus Christ in his day writing this book.
53:08
And he's speaking the words of Jesus Christ.
53:12
And he tells them, I've been commanded of him that I should
53:15
speak concerning you. For behold, he commandeth me
53:17
that I should write, saying so now he's he's taking on this,
53:22
this divine role as a prophet with a Commission to speak to us
53:28
directly through the words that he's writing.
53:31
Turn all ye Gentiles from your wicked ways and repent of your
53:35
evil doings. Notice the list here.
53:39
Repent of your evil doings, of your lying and deceiving and of
53:43
your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations and your
53:47
idolatries and of your murders and your priest crafts and your
53:50
envying and your stripes and from all your wickedness and
53:54
abominations. It's a pretty pretty all
53:58
inclusive list to describe the various paths that are available
54:03
to all of us to walk today in varying combinations and and
54:09
variations. This is we are in a time when it
54:16
is more available to do all those things than ever before
54:19
because of technology and communication and movement among
54:22
the peoples of the world. And yet here is the the real,
54:28
the positive side of this command to repent, He says, and
54:35
come unto me and be baptized in my name, that you may receive a
54:40
remission of your sins and be filled with the Holy Ghost, that
54:43
you may be numbered with my people who are of the House of
54:46
Israel. This is a gathering mandate.
54:51
This is this is an invitation to help as many people as possible
54:56
to take any step forward on the covenant path so that we can
55:00
help gather Israel, as President Nelson has said.
55:05
Which now brings us to 4th Nephi, which is going to cover
55:11
this incredible period of time. It covers 200 and 86287 some
55:18
some odd years. You you have to go back to the
55:22
book of Omni from this point to cover 286 years going in, in
55:28
turning the the, the clock backward.
55:31
But you only get one, one chapter and it's not that long
55:35
in comparison. And it's only the first half of
55:37
the chapter that talks about the good things.
55:39
So what you get in in the book of 4th Nephi is the rise to
55:47
building Zion. We get the steps, what they did.
55:51
And then the second-half of the chapter is the loss of Zion.
55:55
And then the book called Mormon opens and we get the deep
55:59
descent. So that's all of 4th Nephi is
56:03
right here. And he's not, he's not spending
56:09
a lot of time describing how to be a good person or how to be a
56:12
St. in millennial times or in a a perfect Zion society.
56:18
Because as Mormon looks down the quarter of time, he doesn't see
56:22
a perfect society. He sees a society that has a
56:25
whole bunch of what we just read in chapter 30, verse 2.
56:29
And so consequently, we get this this handbook, the majority of
56:34
the Book of Mormon is about how to survive in troubled times in
56:39
the face of opposition and major setbacks.
56:43
So if you want to take verse one through 17, you will, you will
56:52
be able to study. What do you do to build a
56:58
perfect society? Now many of you are probably
57:01
thinking now, why would I care about that?
57:03
Because you just got through saying we don't live in a
57:05
perfect society. And you're right.
57:08
But brothers and sisters, we don't need to wait for the
57:11
second coming to start living a more Zion like life individually
57:20
in our homes, in our families, in our local wards or branches,
57:26
our stakes. We can strive for these
57:30
attributes that are listed in verse one through 17.
57:33
It's a powerful exercise to read and ponder and mark very
57:38
carefully what did they do and how does that translate into the
57:44
latter days and into our world, into our life?
57:47
How could we replicate what they did at our level in our circles
57:52
of influence today? And by the way, I will just
57:56
mention that the one thing that is mentioned more than any other
58:00
in verse one through 17 is there was no contention.
58:08
This is another invitation to perhaps go and revisit President
58:11
Nelson's talk. Peacemakers needed.
58:15
Oh, how we need more peacemakers on the world today to to build
58:23
more of a Zion society, more of a Zion family, more of a Zion
58:29
culture around us. No contention among the people.
58:35
That's a powerful attribute. And then what happens is Nephi
58:44
died in verse 19. His son Amos kept the record and
58:48
it says in verse 20 there were there was still peace in the
58:53
land save it were a small part of the people who had revolted
58:57
from the church and taken upon them the name of Lamanites.
59:01
Therefore there began to be Lamanites again in the land.
59:04
So the very first step to losing a 200 year period of, of a
59:12
perfect society for long generations of of Zion, the
59:18
first little step off of that high plateau was that a group
59:27
took the name of Lamanites, not the name of Christ upon them.
59:32
They separated themselves. They wanted to be different.
59:35
They didn't want to be like everybody else, which then
59:41
you'll notice it's it's slow but then in verse 23.
59:46
Now I Mormon would that you should know that the people had
59:49
multiplied in so much that they were spread upon all the face of
59:51
the land and that they'd become exceedingly rich because of
59:54
their prosperity in Christ. And you probably remember from
1:00:00
the pride cycle what is prosperity, especially over time
1:00:04
generally lead us to verse 24. Now, in this 201st year, there
1:00:09
began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride.
1:00:14
Such as the wearing of costly apparel and all manner of fine
1:00:17
pearls and the fine things of the world.
1:00:20
And they no longer had all things, all substance common
1:00:23
among them. And verse 26, they're divided
1:00:26
into classes. In other words, you, you start
1:00:30
here in earnest. In verse 24, it, it began a
1:00:35
little bit before then, but in earnest.
1:00:37
You see the steps or the slides that take them away from Zion
1:00:44
and down towards their destruction in the rest of the
1:00:49
chapter. There's one little point here.
1:00:54
If you look at verse 27, it says halfway down that there were
1:01:01
many churches which professed to know the Christ, and yet they
1:01:06
did deny the more parts of His gospel in so much that they did
1:01:10
receive all manner of wickedness and administer that which was
1:01:13
sacred unto Him to whom it had been forbidden because of
1:01:16
unworthiness. So one of the things they do is
1:01:20
they create a culture where loving your fellow beings
1:01:26
becomes the primary focus. The primary focus was no longer
1:01:32
on loving God and seeking God to do His will, which one of the
1:01:37
things that God wants us to do is love our neighbor so we don't
1:01:41
need to pit the 1st and 2nd commandment against each other.
1:01:44
They're not enemies, they work together.
1:01:47
The problem is, is if you take the second commandment and put
1:01:52
it on top of the 1st and make it more important, which is what's
1:01:54
happening here, well then it's just a matter of time until
1:02:00
verse 34 happens. Nevertheless, the people did
1:02:04
harden their hearts, for they were led by many priests and
1:02:07
false prophets to build up many churches and to do all manner of
1:02:13
iniquity. So in verse 27, they received
1:02:16
all manner of wickedness among them and they said it doesn't
1:02:20
matter that we're not going to tell you what God wants you to
1:02:23
do because we just want you to feel loved.
1:02:25
That's the most important thing to us is not filling God's love,
1:02:29
but filling our love. Can you see the the problem
1:02:33
here? We're trying to put ourselves in
1:02:37
a position where somebody feeling of my love and approval
1:02:42
and approbation for them becomes more important than helping them
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turn to God and feel of his love.
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We're turning them to us and we're focusing them on us.
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We're not focusing them on God appropriately, kindly, with
1:03:00
gentleness, meekness, love, unfamed, all those beautiful
1:03:05
Christ like attributes. And then it leads to where
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instead of just receiving that among us now we start teaching
1:03:15
them to do all manner of iniquity.
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It's that slippery slope that just keeps speeding up and
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taking people directions they they ultimately don't want to
1:03:29
go. But in the short term, it feels
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like the path of least resistance.
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And you're right, there isn't a lot of resistance when you're
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sliding downhill. You just keep sliding.
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It takes effort to climb and to walk the High Road and to focus
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on God and to walk the path that Christ has has marked for us
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through his life. So to conclude these, these
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chapters, they, they deserve your time.
1:03:58
They deserve your attention, your effort to dive in deep, and
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to keep a prayer in your heart for the Lord to teach you what
1:04:07
you need to know in order to take another step forward in
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Christ in that covenant connection with Him.
1:04:16
Using His power, focusing on His will and seeking to do that
1:04:22
rather than doing our own will alone.
1:04:25
Loving God first and then pleading with Him to help us
1:04:29
love our fellow beings on both sides of the veil as much as
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absolutely possible. To encourage as many people as
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we can to come into this covenant of belonging, this
1:04:43
covenant community called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
1:04:51
Day Saints. What a privilege it is to be a
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small voice, a small part of this worldwide global effort
1:05:02
with you as we strive to move forward in building up the
1:05:07
Kingdom of God in preparation for his coming and ultimately
1:05:12
for that day when He will present you and me and His whole
1:05:18
Kingdom to the to the Father spotless.
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And it becomes the Kingdom of our God.
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I know that he lives everything in his life was focused on
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helping us. I want my life to be focused on
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helping him do his work. And that's my prayer for all of
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us. In the sacred name of Jesus
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Christ, Amen. Know that you're loved.